Wilbers or Öhlins to transform the bike?

arrjo

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Hi,
I have a R1200 GS MY 2010 and I am dissatisfied with the suspension of the bike.
I am a featherweight, weighing only 67 Kg and need to get the bike softer.
It has a very harsh ride on rough tarmac and gravel roads. It rattles and clunks and doesn't seem to cope with the rough roads.
I have tried lowering the tire pressures and have fiddled around with every possible suspension setting on the bike but still the bike remains nervous.

Can anyone tell we, would fitting a Wilbers or Öhlins shocks front and rear help transform the bike into a comfortable machine that sucks up bumps and imperfections on the road? Or is it just an expensive piece of kit that professional riders know to appreciate?
 
I'm a similar weight and switched to Ohlins with a one softer springs from standard at both ends (130 on the rear) and it will sort your problem - but not cheap ;)
 
If you bought correctly, either Ohlins, Wilbers or Nitron, they'd 'spring' it to your weight so it should mean the bike is perfect :thumb
 
The Ohlins rear shock made a massive difference to the ride quality and handling on my GS. That our Wilbers would be great and you get a big chunk of your money back later when you sell on.

Just got a Wilbers on the Super Ten and it is also great.

Regards,

Matt

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
arrjo said:
Can anyone tell we, would fitting a Wilbers or Öhlins shocks front and rear help transform the bike into a comfortable machine that sucks up bumps and imperfections on the road?
Click to expand...

Yes, I actually went for a harder spring as I do a lot of two-up and it still rode bumps far better, yet gave a far more controlled feeling, especially at speed.

You don't have to be a pro to notice the difference between average and great suspension - otherwise you would never have noticed any problems now would you :nenau

Like Monty a Wilburs will soon grace my Tenere, and I have had great results with Ohlins and Maxton units on other bikes.

Most owners notice a great deal of difference when changing to better quality suspension, the only ones who claim it does not make much odds unless you are Rossi are the skinflints who won't splash the cash and try to convince themselves those who have are fools.

I would also leave the spring to the experts, quality suspension to tends to work much better and over a wider range and typically allows for small bumps to be soaked up much better (normally through better valving and bigger shock bodies / pistons)

My old ZZR used to knock my teeth out on bumps, the fix was 20% stiffer springs as the stock forks used to sit low and bottom out a lot, left to my own devices I would probably of bought softer springs and made it a whole lot worse!

Talk to the experts and let them advise, I have used MCT for the last few years and find them great to deal with from honest advice without trying to get your credit card number through to aftersales service, no hard sell and if a cheap solution will suit you they won't flog you anything more.
 
Hi,
Thanks guys! I shall now start saving up for new shocks :)
I guess that changing just the spring for a softer one wouldn't make that much difference?
 
If you've got panniers, try sticking some weight in them to stop the bike bouncing around. Less expensive than new suspension or at least it could be an interim measure before you get new suspension.
 
Just as a thought ....

Have you played with your tyre pressures? Personally, I found that the 'adventure' tyres (TR91's .. trail attacks .. EXP's etc) were very skittish at my normal 36 / 42. Running them a little lower gave me a far better ride. I'm guessing (but I don't know for sure) that some of these dual purpose tyres have beefier side walls which give a slightly firmer ride.

Just a thought ... :thumb


EDIT ...... ***

DOH !! Just read your thread IN FULL !!!!!!! Ha ha ...... !! Cancel the last ...... !
 
Hi Giles,
Yes I have fiddled around with tire pressures. I just switched from Metzeler Tourance EXP to Heidenau k60 tires. The Heidenaus are currently as low as 1,5 and today I was out riding on gravel and rough tarmac roads with 1,5 tire pressure and still it was not comfortable.

I have had a chance to ride a R1150 GS Adventure on standard shocks and it was completely different from my bike - the ride on the Adventure was like riding on cotton candy compared to my bike.
The Adventure sucked up all the imperfections on the road where my bike jitters and shakes when going through the same road.
 
Fair point - the adventure is of course a far superior machine to the GS let alone the 1100 / 1150 ..... :D
 
Giles said:
Fair point - the adventure is of course a far superior machine to the GS let alone the 1100 / 1150 ..... :D
Click to expand...

Think its more to do with the fact the GSA weighs 3 tonnes :aidan
 
But do you think is it possible to make the 1200 GS feel more like the Adventure in terms of suspension comfort?
Or are the bike geometrics so different that the regular 1200 GS will never be as comfortable as the Adventure no matter what suspension you put on the regular 1200 GS?
 
Yes I achieved it with Ohlins with softer springs
 
Super, thanks! I already started to think that I have to sell my bike and buy either the 800 GS or the 1200 GS Adventure.
 
No you dont need to do that - look for secondhand Ohlins or Wilbers - you can get them serviced and change the springs. Different league to the OE. You can always resell them when you change the bike (keep your original shocks) and recoup most of your outlay.
 
I am assuming you are on non ESA suspension? The STD ESA on my gs was fine ( it's wp if you take a peek at the body of the shock). You could also try to spring your STD kit to your weight ? Good luck with your problem and hope you find a solution.
 
I managed to try an R1200GS with ESA suspension and the difference between my 1200GS with regular suspension and the one with ESA was like night and day. ESA smoothed out the bumps really well and therefore the bike was very relaxed and comfortable. Even in sport mode the ESA suspension was more comfortable and relaxed on rough roads than my GS.
I've got a slight suspicion that my bike has extra stiff springs fitted already in the factory for some reason and the dealer forgot to mention me this when they sold me the bike. I'll make an inquiry into this and keep you guys posted.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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